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Justice News

Detroit Man Sentenced to 7 Years in Prison for Involvement in Easter Shooting

A Detroit man was sentenced to 7 years (84 months) in federal prison on the charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced United States Attorney Matthew Schneider.

Vincent Samuel Hill, Jr., was sentenced yesterday before United States District Judge Arthur J. Tarnow in Detroit, Michigan.

Hill pleaded guilty on July 9, 2018, to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Hill had illegally possessed a stolen firearm on Easter Day when he brandished the firearm at Dane’s Social Club on W. McNichols. Detroit Police Department Officers responded to a shooting at Dane’s Social Club on Easter Day where Hill was shot multiple times. Initial reports were that Hill was shot in the crossfire when with his girlfriend, who rushed him to the hospital. Upon further investigation, Detroit Police Officers learned that those reports were not true. Surveillance video showed that Hill was shot only after brandishing a firearm with a laser sight into the crowd. Detroit Police Department executed a search warrant of Hill’s home following their investigation and recovered the firearm with the laser sight. Hill was arrested at that time. Hill also has a pending domestic violence case in Wayne County and a federal supervised release violation in federal court.

“Keeping guns out of the hands of felons is a priority of our office,” stated United States Attorney Schneider. “Felons and violent offenders should take notice that they will go to prison if they illegally possession firearms.”

“Today’s sentence is another example of ATF’s relentless effort to reduce violent crime in the City of Detroit and we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to target dangerous individuals,” Special Agent in Charge James Deir said.

Hill’s case signals the commitment by ATF and the United States Attorney’s Office to take violent individuals off the streets. This case was a joint investigation by the Detroit Police Department, Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, special agents of the ATF and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mitra Jafary-Hariri in conjunction with the Project Safe Neighborhood initiative.